Brookfield pays homage to fallen soldiers

News-Times, The (Danbury, CT), John Pirro THE NEWS-TIMES

Published 1:00 am, Monday, May 29, 2006

BROOKFIELD - Memorial Day is a day to remember, and a day to give thanks.

It is also a day,
First Selectman Jerry Murphy
said, to reflect on the words of
Benjamin Franklin
, who once said there are no good wars, but there are necessary wars.
Sunday was a day for Brookfield to do all those things as the town honored all those men and women who've sacrificed their lives in the defense of freedom.
Conditions were picture perfect as hundreds of spectators lined the parade route between the high school on Long Hill Road, where marchers stepped off, and
Center School on Route
133, where the procession concluded.
Lawns along Route 25 from the public library to the town center were crowded with onlookers, basking in the sun or seeking relief from the heat in the shade as an array of veterans groups, town officials, marching bands, civic organizations and fire trucks passed by.
Marchers made their traditional stop at Williams Park for ceremonies paying homage to those who veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice, and also to those who served their country and have since passed away after returning to civilian life.
The small, neatly kept park, across from the public library, is a favored spot for parade watching for many residents.
"I come here because I like to see the ceremony. That's what it's all about," said

Kathryn Scott
, whose lived in Brookfield for 30 years.
There, in the shadow of the veterans monument erected in 1992 and the flagpole honoring
Francis Azzarito
, a soldier from Brookfield who was killed in Vietnam, a bugler played "Taps" and Army Sgt.

Tim Walsh
and
Coast Guard
Chief Petty Officer
Alan Owen
laid a wreath of red, white and blue carnations.
State Rep.
David Scribner
, R-Brookfield, read a proclamation from Gov.
M. Jodi Rell
, and Murphy cited the town's long and distinguished record of providing personnel to the armed services.
Four men who fought in the Revolutionary War are buried in local cemeteries, Murphy said, and the list of wars in which townspeople have taken part goes right up to the present.
"We're well represented in Iraq today," he said.